2018 End-of-Year Research Highlights

2018 End-of-Year Research Highlights

Larry Hedges, accepting the Yidan Prize.

In 2018, members of the School of Education and Social Policy research community took home the world’s largest prize in education research, raised more than $6 million in community research partnerships, and paved the way for life-changing discoveries by studying individuals, massive organizations, and everything in between.

Read more about SESP research in 2018:

Northwestern Celebrates Renowned Scholar and Yidan Prize Winner Larry HedgesNorthwestern University President Morton Schapiro and a delegation of Northwestern’s leadership, including SESP Dean David Figlio, traveled to Hong Kong celebrate Professor Larry Hedges, recipient of the 2018 Yidan Prize for Education Research, and set the stage for a new era of expanded collaboration with “Asia’s world city.”

Why You Can’t 'Just Ignore' Fake NewsEven if you know the information you’re getting is false, fictitious, or misleading, simply being exposed to it can have clear consequences, according to a review of recent studies by professor David Rapp and graduate student Nikita Salovich.

Safety Net Investments in ChildrenVirtually all gains in spending on the social safety net for children since 1990 have gone to families with earnings and to families with income above the poverty line, according to research by Diane Schanzenbach. Her paper examined which groups of children are served by core childhood social safety net programs—including Medicaid, EITC, CTC, SNAP, and AFDC/TANF—and how that has changed over time.

Can a Growth Mindset Boost Coding Skills? Introductory computer science classes often have trouble retaining students, perhaps in part because they often promote a fixed mindset or the belief that great programmers are born and not made. Research by Eleanor O’Rourke looks at whether a growth mindset can help improve retention and increase diversity in computer science classes.

Wilensky Honored for NetLogo, Social Simulation WorkNorthwestern University Professor Uri Wilensky, who created the agent-based modeling language NetLogo, received the 2018 Rosaria Conte Outstanding Contribution to Social Simulation Award from the European Social Simulation Association.

How Changing Teen Stereotypes Can Help Them ShineEfforts to help teenagers see themselves as responsible and thwart common negative stereotypes can help them flourish, according to new research co-authored by Yang Qu, a developmental psychologist.

Who Benefits From Looking at the Bright Side?Searching for a silver lining during a stressful situation can help decrease anxiety, particularly for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, according to research by doctoral students Emily Hittner and Katie Rim and Claudia Haase, assistant professor of human development and social policy.

Leveraging Student Mindsets and MotivesPaying attention to psychological factors can help schools increase college completion rates, according to research by Mesmin Destin.Potential strategies include supporting students' mindsets, linking classroom work to real-world aspirations, and designing programs that activate students' identities, motivation, and sense of belonging.

U.S. Children Now Draw Female Scientists More Than EverWhen drawing scientists, U.S. children now depict female scientists more often than ever, according to research co-authored by David Uttal, which analyzed five decades of “Draw-A-Scientist” studies conducted since the 1960s.